1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to plant tenders and more particularly to a novel and highly effective plant tender that automatically tends plants, especially indoor plants, for extended periods without the attention of a human attendant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plants are essential for many reasons, including human survival. In general, outdoor plants fend for themselves, though of course under certain circumstances they must be irrigated, weeded, pruned, or otherwise tended in order to survive or in order to conform to human designs. Farm crops, orchards, and vegetable and flower gardens are examples of outdoor plants that require, or at any rate often receive, regular tending by humans. It is indoor plants, however, that require the most assiduous tending. Many indoor plants are adapted to thrive with little water and light, but all need some of each in order to survive, and indoors there is no rain and often little light. Indoor plants must therefore be watered and either placed in a room with a window, skylight or other means for admitting outdoor light or irradiated with artificial light.
Despite the need to tend indoor plants, they have always been very popular. People have always agreed that they can provide beauty and a pleasant aroma; and today many value them for their ability to absorb pollutants, thereby purifying the air.
Indoor plants now assume increased importance because of the recent emphasis on "tight" construction of houses, office buildings and other buildings in order to conserve energy. Modern construction admits less outside air than drafty older construction, and indoor air pollution in many modern buildings is often much worse than outdoor air pollution. The term "sick-building syndrome" (SBS), has been coined to identify this problem. Concern about SBS has given new impetus to indoor horticulture.
Various aids to tending plants indoors have been developed. There is for example a light source mounted on a telescopic support that can be extended as the plant grows, thereby keeping the light source close to the top of the plant as it grows. There are also various lighted containers within which plants can be fully enclosed. There have also been proposals for automatic irrigation or watering of outdoor and indoor plants and automatic illumination of plants.
However, there has not heretofore been provided a unitary structure capable of tending plants for extended periods without any human intervention.
An important part of plant tending is supplying sufficient light. If a plant is outdoors, this presents no problem. However, if the plant is indoors, it must be placed near a window and/or it must be supplied with additional light from an artificial light source. While light from an artificial light source can be used in dark areas of a room to supply some of the energy required for photosynthesis, incandescent light is insufficient in the range of its spectrum and too hot to be placed near the foliage because of the potential for burning the foliage. While fluorescent light is more suitable for illuminating foliage, heretofore only long bulbs with end prongs have been available, and such bulbs are usually used for a number of potted plants. Now it has been found that the new low-wattage but bright screw-in type of fluorescent bulb can be mounted in close proximity to individual plants without fear of foliage burn. Furthermore, it is possible to apply tinted heat-resistant dye coatings to the fluorescent bulb to help attain the proper spectrum required for plant growth. In order to bring the potted plant into closer proximity to the light, movable and slidable arm trays or wire hooks placed on a vertical pole can be positioned close to a suitable individual fluorescent reflective fixture. The fixture can be held by an adjustable arm that allows rotary movement as well as vertical movement and radial movement (i.e. the arm itself can be adjustable).
While the use of fluorescent tubes to supply light for plants is not new, it has been limited to horizontal structures where the fluorescent tube size dictated the design of the entire lighting mechanism. This handicap is overcome in accordance with the present invention by virtue of its mobility and adjustability.
Another option for watering plants involves the use of a reservoir having superabsorbent polymers. This is especially useful when going on vacation since the polymers can absorb as much as 300 times their weight in water and can last four to five years. While it is necessary to water the roots of plants when the soil becomes dry, usually manual watering is carried out. An improvement for feeding plants provided in accordance with the invention can be used over extended periods of time, as during vacations when no one is present to water the plants.